Greetings, HotD Archive. MarshalZhukov presents the latest installment of the adventures of Alex and Misa.

Day and Night

"Misa, sweetie. Time to wake up," Alex gently shook Misa's sleeping form. "Davis and them are waiting for us."

"I don't feel well," Misa grumbled. "I think I'm sick."

Alex laid her hand on Misa's forehead. "You don't have a fever. What do you feel?"

"Like I'm going to – urp." Misa jumped to her feet and ran out of the room. Shortly, the sounds of wet sick filled the house. Alex cringed as she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. A knock brought her attention to the bedroom door.

"Is Misa-chan okay, Alex-chan?" Asuka asked, the concern on her face plain as the baby bump she carried.

"She's sick again, nee-chan," Alex said. "Third time this week."

"May I come in?" Asuka asked.

"Please."

Asuka walked over and sat cross-legged beside Alex. "I suspect Misa is pregnant."

Alex shot upright and stared right into Asuka's eyes. "What! How do you-"

"There are things I know about this, Alex-chan," Asuka interrupted. "Remember when you first found out Misa loved you? How you figured I knew something about it?"

"You told me 'Spoilers, Sweetie'," Alex said, the conversation that morning clear in her memory. At once the realization hit. "Wait a sec! You mean…"

"I had to give her up," Asuka said, a tear leaking from her eye. "My beautiful baby girl. She will be ten this fall...if she survived all this."

Alex sat shocked. Asuka smiled sadly before she gathered Alex's hands into hers. "I was about your age. He was a university student. He told me he loved me and I believed him. I got pregnant, but his parents refused to acknowledge the baby was his. I carried the baby to term, then gave her up for adoption. I got held back a year because of the pregnancy."

"Does Shaun...?"

"Does he know?" Asuka finished the question. "He does. I told him while you were in Osaka with Misa-chan. He married me anyway."

Alex gathered Asuka into her arms and the two sat crying for a few minutes.

"You promise me now," Asuka said as she broke the hug. "You make that girl the center of your world, Alex-chan. You protect her and the life growing inside her with everything you have."

Speechless, Alex could only nod.

"You are going to be late," Asuka said, as she glanced at the sunbeam creeping across the floor. "Don't keep your instructors waiting."

"What about Misa?" Alex found her voice at last.

"Make excuses," Asuka said flatly. "They will understand her 'condition'."

"Hai, onee-chan."

Asuka excused herself as Alex dressed hurriedly. The late summer heat and humidity were already oppressive, even at this early hour of the morning. The short shorts and sports bra she wore did little to cool her down. I fucking hate humid, Alex cursed to herself. I miss Santa Monica. She gathered her weapons bag, slipped her sword and bokken inside and zipped it closed.

"You are late, Miss Schweiger," Davis said as he glanced at his watch. "Captain de Souza may be gracious in sparing us this time to train you, but it's best not to waste it."

"Sorry," Alex huffed as she ran up the short stair onto the middle school's sports field. "Misa's sick this morning and won't be coming today."

"Third time in as many days," Davis remarked. "I trust it's nothing serious."

Alex shook her head. "Asuka onee-chan thinks Misa-chan is pregnant."

Edmonds, Sharpe and Davis all stepped back a pace. "Pregnant?" they said collectively.

Alex, catching her breath, set her weapons bag on the edge of the field near the goal posts and stepped to within a few paces of the Marines.

"Should we offer our congratulations?" Sharpe asked. "Given the circumstances."

Alex stopped to think. "I'm not entirely sure," she said. "Mi-chan isn't really certain herself. I only talked to Asuka onee-chan about it right before I got here."

Davis scratched his chin. "We can worry about that another time. Right now, you have physical conditioning, Recruit Schweiger."

As the warm-ups began, a muffled thump filled the wet air. Turning in random directions, Alex pointed to the sky toward the harbor. "What's that?"

The Marines turned to look in the direction Alex pointed to. "It's the recall flare," Davis said.

"The what?" Alex asked. As she turned to face the Marines, a lone figure emerged from the shadows of the school gym. Alex squinted to get a better view through the haze. "Who's that?"

Edmonds had the binoculars in hand and trained them on the figure. "One of Headmistress Kuroi's students."

"Something's wrong," Alex pointed out. "Look how she's walking."

All eyes turned to the figure. Davis took the binoculars from Edmonds and stared intently at the girl approaching them. "Oh, Jesus Lord God, a walker" he said.

Before Alex could ask any more questions, a low wail split the silence. It grew increasingly louder and higher. The Marines broke and gathered their kit. Alex, not sure what to do, made her way to her weapons bag.

The shot shook her to the core. Edmonds had taken aim and shot the girl that had been advancing on them. "Get back to your house, gather up everyone and get to the Ark!" Edmonds shouted.

Alex froze trying to understand what was happening

"Right fooking now, girl!" Edmonds bellowed.

Alex nearly dropped her bag at the shouting, but retained presence of mind to keep it in her grasp. She turned to run home, but was stopped short at the horrible sight that confronted her.

What had been Kuroi-sensei and several of her students shambled out of the main building onto the playing field, their gaping mouths and low moans announcing for all the world they were no longer among the living.

The Marines moved to surround Alex, taking careful aim at the zombies approaching them. They moved in a tight circle toward the entrance to the field.

"They're coming from the village," Alex said as she pointed down the lane toward her house. The hair on the back of her neck rose with each syllable. "They're coming from the village!"

Within seconds, she had unzipped her bag, retrieved the precious blade given to her by Busujima Saeko and whipped it from its sheath. With a howl of rage and despair, Alex charged forward into the crowd of undead, the steel in her hands singing as it whistled through the air.

"After her!" Davis commanded.

Already, chaos was in full swing. Newly risen corpses that had been neighbors, friends, were attacking anyone in range of Their grasping, dead hands. Alex descended among them, cutting a ragged swathe toward her destination. Davis and his men followed up closely behind, dispatching what they could, trying their damndest to keep her from harm.

The group came to a screeching halt in front of the house Alex lived in. There in the front yard, Misa stood defiant, her naginata in hand. Asuka stood by her side with Shaun's pistol, taking careful aim and dropping undead with practiced calm.

Alex ran up. "Are you okay? You're not bitten?"

Misa lowered her guard as Alex and the Marines drew close. "We're fine. The house is secure," Asuka said, shooting once more. "The security measures Shaun emplaced will keep us safe a short while, but we cannot stay here much longer."

"Where is Sergeant Phillips?" Davis asked as he felled a walker.

"At the ryokan with the Embassy staff," Asuka said. She slid a fresh clip into the pistol and racked the slide.

"He'll have to hold until we can send a helo," Davis said. "We are ordered to evacuate to the Ark Royal, and I intend to get you there safely."

"Our bag is waiting by the front door," Misa said. "When the air raid siren went off, I packed everything I could."

Alex leaned in and gave Misa a kiss. "How's your stomach?"

"I'll live," Misa said. "Maybe."

Alex smirked at the last statement. She turned into the house and reached in to grab the escape bag.

As she did so, Asuka called out to her. "Run into my bedroom and grab the green box!"

Obeying immediately, Alex dashed into the master bedroom. There in a corner lay the prize she sought. Alongside lay Shaun's PLCE loadout and, most vitally, his service rifle. Alex quickly strapped the loadout to her body, hefted the rifle under her arm and grabbed the green ammo box. She gave the room a cursory look over and ran out.

The situation on the street had deteriorated somewhat in her absence. She found herself watching her lover, her guardians and her nee-chan in the street in a loose fighting circle fending off attackers from all sides. She ran down the walk and picked up a large stone. Setting the ammo box and rifle on the flagstones, she heaved the rock some distance down the lane. The clattering of the rock as it rolled down the pavement had the desired effect as the erstwhile assailants moved to investigate the new noise.

Alex gathered up the rifle and ammo box and rejoined her companions as they quickly made their way up the lane toward the Ark Royal.

"Shaun left his gun," Alex whispered to Asuka as she filled the spent pistol magazine.

"I warned him to take it with him," Asuka hissed. "He said it was a peaceful day and he wouldn't need it."

"Koibito," Misa whispered to Alex. "Let me carry the box and the bag. You are a far better combatant than I am."

"But, you're pregnant," Alex protested softly. "I won't let a pregnant woman carry such a heavy load."

"I also told you that if I got pregnant, I wanted you in top form," Misa hissed back. "For such eventualities as this."

Alex felt the weight of Misa's gaze before relenting finally. Misa shouldered the bag and took the ammo box.

"Let me carry the rifow, Miss Schweigah" Edmonds said, his hand out. "You're best with two hands on that blade."

"Oi," a weak voice called out. The group turned to see their next-door neighbor, Nurse Yoshida, flag them down.

"Come with us," Davis ordered crisply. "We're evacuating to the Ark Royal."

Yoshida held her right hand into view. To everyone's horror, she was missing her thumb and index finger. "It's too late for me, but please take Toshio."

Toshio ran onto the street and latched onto Misa. Davis offered a salute as Yoshida kneeled and bowed her head. She prayed as Davis leveled his weapon at her head.

"Don't look, Toshio-kun," Misa whispered and held him close as the rifle barked.

The group fought a bloody battle to the Ark Royal's launch dock. Panic, terror and blind instinct for survival consumed the remaining civilian population as they fought with the ship's compliment in desperate attempts to board the launch.

All the hysteria exacerbated the situation as They were drawn inexorably to the shouts and screams of the terrified crowd.

"Davis!" The shout came from behind them. The group turned to see Sergeant Major Blake waving his shemagh from the second floor window of a house across the corner from the launch quay.

"Go!" Davis shouted as he pointed to the fortified house.

Immediately, the group ran at a quick pace. They were welcomed into the embrace of the Embassy detachment as the heavy doors slammed shut behind them.

"Welcome to The Ark Royal's Shore Operations Station," Blake said. "I see we have another spot of bother, eh men?"

Davis stood to attention. "Sar Major, aside from Sergeant Shaun Phillips, The Phillips household is all present and correct. We rescued the neighbor child as well. Nurse Yuuko Yoshida did not survive."

"Good job, Davis, all things considered," Blake said. "Any trouble getting here?"

"No more than the usual, Sar Major," Davis said with a jaunty smile. "I should think it was worse in Osaka, eh, Miss Schweiger?"

Alex chuckled nervously and the twinge in her leg made its presence known.

"You'll be needing this," Sharpe said as he handed over the sheath to Alex's sword. "I picked it up after you took off after them deadies."

Alex nodded her head. "Thank you, Mr. Sharpe."

"Tiger of Ikei," Sharpe said, pointing to the gold inlay of a tiger embossed onto the sheath. "Tha's a good name for you, Miss Schweiger.

"All fury and no finesse," Alex said. She wiped the blood onto a rag and slid the blade into its sheath. "I'm beginning to think Busujima-sempai has made a back-handed comment."

"All things come with training, Miss Schweiger," Davis said.

"Well, the Embassy detachment is all present and correct," White said as he descended the stairs. "Finally. And they brought more guests."

"Moah, Sergeant?" Edmonds said.

White laughed casually. "There is a certain young lady from America who decided it was now or never to come see you, Edmonds."

As he said these words, Andrea Jensen appeared behind him. She looked rather the worse for wear. Her face and clothing were bloodied, her pipe dripped gore. The smile she wore, however, told a story of utter happiness.

She dropped the pipe and ran to Edmonds. "I thought I lost another one to this fucking mess."

Edmonds gathered her into his arms and hugged her close. "Not ol' Shaun. Three bullets, countless knives and hundreds of zeddies cahn't keep this Liverpoo' boy down."

"Any word on Eun-ji Park?" Misa asked.

"Fortunately," Blake said. "She is safely aboard the Inscrutable."

"What now?" Asuka asked. She cleared the pistol's breach and flicked the safety on.

"Nothing we can do right at the moment," Blake said. "We have to sit tight and await our evacuation orders. By the by, where is Sergeant Phillips?"

"He went to the ryokan on the north end of the island," Asuka said. "He wanted to make sure their defenses were good."

"Without his kit and weapon?" Blake said, pointing to Alex still wearing Shaun's loadout.

"Said it was peaceful here and he wouldn't need it," Alex said, repeating Asuka's reply.

"Bloody hell," Blake said. "I do pray he is okay."

The muffled roar of a motorcycle engine split the chaos outside. Presently, it came to a stop followed by the distinctive sound of a shotgun going off.

"What the devil?" Blake said. "Edmonds, you and Sharpe go take a look."

"Aye Sar Major," they said in unison.

Sharpe went to open the door and was greeted with a furious pounding. He quickly opened the door to reveal a somewhat disheveled, but otherwise safe, Shaun Phillips. He stepped in and Sharpe quickly slammed the door shut.

"Sergeant Phillips!" Blake bellowed. "What is the meaning of going off without your weapon?"

Shaun bowed his head then snapped to attention. "I have no excuse, Sar Major. I am sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, boy-o," Blake said, a slight smile playing on his lips. "You apologize to your commanding officer over there."

Shaun turned sheepishly to face Asuka. She stood fuming; her anger, fear and sadness all visible in her shaking form. She rushed to him and wrapped him tightly in an embrace.

"Never, ever, ever do anything so foolish again!" she wailed. "You hear me, Sergeant?"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Good!" she cried. "Now, whose motorcycle is that?"

Shaun caught Alex's eye and winked. "It's a chopper, baby."

Alex laughed loudly as Asuka stepped back a pace. She began to laugh aloud as well.

Their laugh was interrupted as Pegg came running down the stair. "Sar Major! We lost contact with the Ark!"

"The instant Man stops fearing, is the instant the species will enter a dead end street and become a pitiable being that waits apathetically for extinction." Schwartzwald nee Michael Seebach, The Big O, season 2, © 2002 Sunrise Animation